Student creates his works of art
kneeling down

A Sleaford student who suffers with Cerebral Palsy is making a name for himself in the art world.

Gavin Thackray-Jones, of Carre Street, is a fine art student at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Despite the difficulties of coping with his condition, 27-year-old Gavin does not let that stand in the way of his ambition to become a successful artist.

He said: “The Cerebral Palsy affects my mobility and my speech. I get around by using an electric wheelchair.

“I love producing art, as it makes me feel free and it enables me to be as creative as possible.”

To produce his art, David has to kneel on the floor.

He added: “My artwork is about escaping into the unknown world. I approach this by experimenting with the use of composition in an imaginative way.

“In my artwork my narrative is about commercial airplanes and architecture from around the world, especially London scenes. I do portraits as well.

“The reason why I use commercial airplanes, mainly British Airways, is because if I was able-bodied I would have loved to have been an airline pilot.”

Gavin mainly works with acrylic and oil paints.

He has staged a number of exhibitions, and on Thursday had the opportunity to showcase his work at the Leicester Tigers’ Stadium. A few days before that he had a two-day exhibition in Leicester on April 11 and 12.

He has also showcased his work at the National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford.

British Airways even considered showing his artwork in the Terminal 5 art gallery at London Heathrow.

Gavin has been influenced in his work by pop art and contemporary artists such as Malcolm Morley, Ken Kiff, George Baselitz and Andy Warhol.

He said: “My ambition is to become a successful artist and have my art in galleries across the world.

“I enjoy experimenting with mixing my colour palette, This makes the atmosphere of my paintings vibrant. I use a wide-ranging scale of canvases. These allow me to use different mark-making techniques with my brushes.”

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